World Chess Championship facts for kids

Gukesh Dommaraju of India, the current world champion (2024)

The World Chess Championship is a special competition to find the best chess player on Earth. The current world champion is Gukesh Dommaraju from India. He won the title in the 2024 World Chess Championship by beating the previous champion, Ding Liren.

The very first event recognized as a world championship happened in 1886. It was a match between Wilhelm Steinitz and Johannes Zukertort. Steinitz won, becoming the first official world champion. For many years, from 1886 to 1946, the champion decided the rules for new matches. Anyone who wanted to challenge them had to gather a lot of money and beat the champion in a match.

After the champion Alexander Alekhine passed away in 1946, the International Chess Federation (FIDE) took over. They started organizing the World Championship, beginning with a tournament in 1948. From 1948 to 1993, FIDE held special tournaments and matches every three years to pick a new challenger for the world champion.

However, before the 1993 match, the champion Garry Kasparov and his challenger Nigel Short decided to leave FIDE. They created their own group called the Professional Chess Association. FIDE then held its own tournament, which Anatoly Karpov won. This meant there were two different world champions for 13 years, until 2006. The titles finally came back together at the World Chess Championship 2006. Since then, FIDE has managed all the championships.

Since 2014, the championship usually happens every two years. Matches are held in even-numbered years. The 2020 and 2022 matches were moved to 2021 and 2023 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The championship returned to its normal schedule in 2024.

Emanuel Lasker held the title for the longest time, 27 years! He also shares the record for most championship wins (six) with Kasparov and Karpov. While the World Chess Championship is open to everyone, there are also separate championships for women, players under 20, younger age groups, and older players. There are also world championships for different types of chess, like rapid chess, blitz chess, and even computer chess.

History of the World Chess Championship
How the Championship Works
World Champions
- Official World Champions (1886–Present)
- World Champions by Number of Title Wins
Other Chess Championships Around the World
See also

History of the World Chess Championship

Early Chess Masters (Before 1886)

The First Strong Players

A picture of the chess match between Howard Staunton and Pierre Saint-Amant in 1843.

Modern chess began in Spain in the 1400s. But the rules changed a bit over time, even until the late 1800s. Before Wilhelm Steinitz and Johannes Zukertort in the late 19th century, no one officially called themselves "world champion." Chess writers sometimes used the phrase for the best players of their time. Some historians even look back and give the title to players from the 1600s, like Gioachino Greco.

François-André Danican Philidor, thought to be the best player in the late 1700s.

Alexandre Deschapelles, thought to be the best player in the early 1800s.

In the early 1800s, Alexandre Deschapelles from France was seen as the strongest player. Later, Louis de la Bourdonnais from France and Alexander McDonnell from England became the top players. They played many games against each other in 1834. These games were the first to be properly recorded and were a bit like the world championship matches we see today. La Bourdonnais won most of these games.

Louis de la Bourdonnais, the strongest player from 1821 until he passed away in 1840.

Howard Staunton, generally seen as the world's best player in the 1840s.

After La Bourdonnais passed away in 1840, Howard Staunton from England beat another French player, Pierre Charles Fournier de Saint-Amant, in 1843. This win made Staunton known as the strongest player, at least in England and France. The term "World Champion" was first used in 1845 to describe Staunton.

Top Players from 1851 to 1886

Adolf Anderssen, who won three big international tournaments. Many consider him the top player in the mid-1800s.

Paul Morphy, who was much better than his opponents. He stopped playing chess at age 21 in 1859.

A big moment was the London 1851 chess tournament. This was the first international chess tournament. It was won by Adolf Anderssen from Germany. He beat Staunton in the semi-finals. This made Anderssen known as the world's leading player.

However, Anderssen was clearly beaten in a match in 1858 by Paul Morphy from America. Morphy won 7–2 with 2 draws. Morphy played against many top players in 1858–59 and beat them all. Some people at the time called him the world champion. But when Morphy went back to America in 1859, he suddenly stopped playing chess. Many still thought of him as the world champion until he passed away in 1884.

After Morphy stopped playing, Anderssen was again seen as the strongest active player. He proved this by winning the London 1862 chess tournament. In 1866, Wilhelm Steinitz narrowly beat Anderssen in a match. Steinitz then showed he was the best by winning the London 1872 tournament and beating Johannes Zukertort in a match that same year.

Steinitz didn't play much competitive chess between 1873 and 1882. During this time, Zukertort became the top active player. He won the London 1883 chess tournament by a lot, with Steinitz coming in second. This tournament showed that Steinitz and Zukertort were the two best players. This led to their match in 1886, which Steinitz won.

There's some discussion about when Steinitz officially became world champion. Was it after he beat Anderssen in 1866, or after he beat Zukertort in 1886? The 1886 match was definitely for the world championship. Many modern experts say Steinitz had an "unofficial" reign from 1866 to 1886, and an "official" one after 1886. So, the 1886 match was the first official World Championship match, and Steinitz was the first official World Chess Champion.

Champions Before FIDE (1886–1946)

Wilhelm Steinitz's Reign (1886–1894)

Wilhelm Steinitz was the top chess player from 1866 to 1894. Some say he was World Champion from 1866; others say from 1886.

After the Steinitz–Zukertort match, a tradition began. The world championship would be decided by a match between the current champion and a challenger. If a player felt strong enough, they would find money to support a match and challenge the champion. If they won, they became the new champion.

Steinitz successfully defended his title against Mikhail Chigorin in 1889, Isidor Gunsberg in 1891, and Chigorin again in 1892.

In the late 1880s and early 1890s, two strong young players appeared: Siegbert Tarrasch and Emanuel Lasker. Lasker was able to get the money to challenge Steinitz. Lasker won the 1894 match and became the new world champion.

Emanuel Lasker's Long Reign (1894–1921)

Emanuel Lasker was the World Champion for 27 years, from 1894 to 1921. This is the longest time anyone has held the title. He played seven World Championship matches during this period.

Lasker held the title for 27 years, from 1894 to 1921. This is the longest reign of any champion. He won a return match against Steinitz in 1897. Then he didn't defend his title for ten years. After that, he played four title defenses in four years. He easily beat Frank Marshall in 1907 and Siegbert Tarrasch in 1908. In 1910, he almost lost his title in a short tied match against Carl Schlechter. He then beat Dawid Janowski in a very one-sided match later in 1910.

Lasker's talks for title matches after 1911 were very debated. In 1911, he was challenged by José Raúl Capablanca. Lasker asked for a lot of money and suggested new rules. Capablanca didn't like the rules, and Lasker stopped the talks.

After World War I, Lasker started talking with Capablanca again. On June 27, 1920, Lasker gave up his title to Capablanca because of public criticism. Some people wondered if Lasker had the right to name his successor. Capablanca argued that if the champion gives up the title, it should go to the challenger. Lasker later agreed to play a match against Capablanca in 1921. Capablanca won their 1921 match easily, with four wins, ten draws, and no losses.

Capablanca, Alekhine, and Euwe (1921–1946)

José Raúl Capablanca was World Champion from 1921 to 1927. He suggested the "London Rules" for future matches.

Alexander Alekhine was World Champion from 1927 to 1935 and again from 1937 until he passed away in 1946. He is the only champion to die while holding the title.

After his match with Lasker, Capablanca suggested new "London Rules" for future championship challenges in 1922. These rules said the first player to win six games would win the match. The champion had to defend their title within one year of a challenge. Also, the champion wasn't forced to accept a challenge for less than US$10,000. Many top players agreed to these rules.

The only match played under these rules was Capablanca vs. Alekhine in 1927. Before this match, most people thought Alekhine had no chance against Capablanca. But Alekhine surprised everyone. He beat Capablanca with his strong drive and deep preparation. Alekhine won and immediately said he would give Capablanca a return match if Capablanca met the "London Rules." However, talks for a return match went on for years and often failed.

Alekhine easily won two title matches against Efim Bogoljubov in 1929 and 1934. In 1935, Alekhine was surprisingly beaten by Max Euwe from the Netherlands, who was a mathematics teacher. Alekhine then won a rematch in 1937. World War II stopped any more world title matches, and Alekhine remained world champion until he passed away in 1946.

How Matches Were Paid For

Before 1948, world championship matches were set up privately. Players had to find money, often from people who wanted to bet on them. This system sometimes made it hard to arrange matches. For example, Marshall challenged Lasker in 1904 but couldn't get the money until 1907. Lasker started the practice of asking the challenger to provide all the money. His successors did the same until World War II. This made it even harder to arrange matches.

FIDE Takes Over (1948–1993)

FIDE and the New System

Max Euwe became World Champion in 1935 by beating Alexander Alekhine, but lost a rematch in 1937.

After Alexander Alekhine passed away in 1946, there was no world champion. This made it difficult to decide who the next champion should be. The International Chess Federation (FIDE) worked to solve this problem. It was hard to organize meetings because of money and travel issues right after World War II.

Mikhail Botvinnik was the first World Champion chosen by FIDE.

The solution was to hold a special tournament in 1948. This tournament, the World Chess Championship 1948, would decide the new world champion. The tournament included five of the world's best players: Max Euwe, Mikhail Botvinnik, Paul Keres, Salo Flohr, and Samuel Reshevsky. Mikhail Botvinnik won the tournament easily and became the world champion.

FIDE also set up a new system to choose challengers for the World Championship every three years:

Players would compete in Zonal Tournaments in different regions.
The top players from these would go to an Interzonal Tournament.
The best players from the Interzonal would then play in the Candidates Tournament.
The winner of the Candidates Tournament would play a match against the current world champion.

FIDE Champions (1949–1963)

Vasily Smyslov (1957–1958)

Mikhail Tal (1960–1961)

Tigran Petrosian (1963–1969)

The FIDE system worked for five cycles. In 1956, FIDE added a rule: a defeated champion could have a return match. Mikhail Botvinnik lost to Vasily Smyslov in 1957 but won the return match in 1958. He also lost to Mikhail Tal in 1960 but won the return match in 1961. So, Smyslov and Tal were champions for a year each, but Botvinnik was champion for most of the time from 1948 to 1963. The return match rule was removed for the 1963 cycle. Tigran Petrosian won the 1962 Candidates and then beat Botvinnik in 1963 to become world champion.

FIDE Champions (1963–1975)

Boris Spassky won the World Championship in 1969. He defended his title against Fischer in 1972.

Bobby Fischer ended 24 years of Soviet players winning the World Championship in 1972.

After the 1962 Candidates, Bobby Fischer claimed that Soviet players were working together to stop non-Soviet players from winning. FIDE changed the Candidates Tournament format to stop this from happening. They replaced the round-robin tournament with a series of elimination matches. Fischer refused to play in the 1966 cycle and left the 1969 cycle after a problem at the 1967 Interzonal. Both these Candidates cycles were won by Boris Spassky. He lost the title match to Petrosian in 1966 but won and became world champion in 1969.

In the 1969–1972 cycle, Fischer caused more issues. He refused to play in the 1969 US Championship. This would have stopped him from playing in the cycle, but another player, Benko, gave up his spot for Fischer. FIDE President Max Euwe allowed this because he thought it was important for chess that Fischer had a chance to challenge for the title. Fischer easily beat everyone and earned the right to challenge champion Boris Spassky.

The match was supposed to be in Yugoslavia, but Fischer had many objections. Iceland became the final location. Even then, Fischer caused problems, mostly about money. It took a phone call from US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger and double the prize money from a financier to convince him to play. After more dramatic moments, Fischer won the match.

The line of FIDE champions was unbroken from 1948 to 1972, with each champion beating the previous one. This changed when Anatoly Karpov won the right to challenge Fischer in 1975. Fischer didn't like the "best of 24 games" match format. He wanted the match to be won by the first player to win 10 games. He also wanted to remain champion if the score reached 9–9. FIDE disagreed and removed Fischer as champion, crowning Karpov as the new champion. Fischer still believed he was the World Champion. He stopped playing chess publicly until 1992, when Spassky agreed to an unofficial rematch. Fischer won this match easily.

Karpov and Kasparov (1975–1993)

Anatoly Karpov became World Champion in 1975 after Fischer didn't defend his title. He held the title until 1985. He was also the FIDE World Champion from 1993 to 1999 when the world title was split.

Garry Kasparov beat Karpov to become the 13th World Champion. He was the undisputed World Champion from 1985 to 1993. He held a split title until 2000.

After becoming world champion by default, Karpov proved he deserved the title by winning many tournaments. He defended his title twice against Viktor Korchnoi, in 1978 and 1981. In the 1984 World Chess Championship, Karpov played against Garry Kasparov. Karpov kept his title after the match lasted over five months. Karpov was leading with five wins to Kasparov's three, with 40 draws.

Karpov finally lost his title in 1985 to Kasparov. Kasparov won by a score of 13–11. The two played three more championships: in 1986 (Kasparov won), 1987 (drawn, Kasparov kept title), and 1990 (Kasparov won). In total, Kasparov and Karpov played 144 World Championship games against each other.

The Split Title Era (1993–2006)

In 1993, Nigel Short beat Karpov and then Jan Timman to earn the right to challenge Kasparov. However, Kasparov and Short complained that FIDE was not handling the prize money well and had other problems. So, they left FIDE and created the Professional Chess Association (PCA) to hold their match. FIDE then took away Kasparov's title and held its own championship match between Karpov and Timman. For the first time, there were two World Chess Champions: Kasparov beat Short and Karpov beat Timman.

Alexander Khalifman, FIDE World Champion 1999–2000.

Ruslan Ponomariov, FIDE World Champion 2002–2004.

The PCA later closed down, leaving Kasparov without an organization to choose his next challenger. In 1998, he formed the World Chess Council. This group organized a match between Alexei Shirov and Vladimir Kramnik. Shirov won, but a match between Kasparov and Shirov never happened. Kasparov then organized a match with Kramnik in late 2000. In a big surprise, Kramnik won the match without losing a single game. Kramnik later called himself the Classical World Chess Champion.

Meanwhile, FIDE changed its system. They started holding large knockout tournaments where many players competed in short matches over a few weeks. Rapid and blitz games were used to break ties. Some felt this format didn't always find the best player. Kasparov refused to play in these events, and Kramnik also stopped after he won his title. Alexander Khalifman won the FIDE World Championship in 1999, Viswanathan Anand in 2000, Ruslan Ponomariov in 2002, and Rustam Kasimdzhanov in 2004.

Rustam Kasimdzhanov, FIDE World Champion 2004–2005.

Veselin Topalov, FIDE World Champion 2005–2006.

By 2002, there were two rival champions, and Kasparov was still ranked number one. This caused a lot of confusion. In 2002, American grandmaster Yasser Seirawan helped create the "Prague Agreement" to bring the titles back together. It was agreed that Kasparov would play the FIDE champion, and the winner would play the winner of the Kramnik–Leko match for the unified title. But it was hard to find money and organize these matches. The Kramnik–Leko match didn't happen until late 2004 (it was a draw, so Kramnik kept his title).

FIDE never managed to organize a Kasparov match. Kasparov's frustration led him to retire from chess in 2005, while still ranked number one. Soon after, FIDE stopped the short knockout format. They announced the FIDE World Chess Championship 2005, a tournament with eight top players. Kramnik didn't play because he wanted his title decided in a match. The tournament was won by Veselin Topalov. Talks then began for a Kramnik–Topalov match to unite the titles.

The Unified Title (Since 2006)

Kramnik Becomes Unified Champion (2006–2007)

Further information: World Chess Championship 2006

The World Chess Championship 2006 match between Topalov and Kramnik happened in late 2006. After some arguments, Kramnik won. This made Kramnik the first unified and undisputed World Chess Champion since Kasparov left FIDE in 1993. FIDE has managed this match and all championships since then.

Anand's Reign (2007–2013)

Vladimir Kramnik beat Kasparov in 2000. He became the undisputed world champion by beating Topalov in 2006.

Viswanathan Anand, who held the FIDE title from 2000 to 2002, won the unified title in 2007 after beating Kramnik. He was the undisputed Champion until 2013.

Kramnik defended his title at the World Chess Championship 2007 in Mexico. This was an 8-player tournament, just like the 2005 FIDE Championship. Viswanathan Anand won this tournament, becoming the World Chess Champion. Because Anand won his title in a tournament and not a match, some people questioned if his title was truly valid.

The next two championships had special rules because of the 2006 unification. Kramnik got the right to challenge for the title he lost in a tournament in the World Chess Championship 2008, which Anand won. Then Topalov, who was left out of the 2007 championship, was placed directly into the Candidates final of the World Chess Championship 2010. He won the Candidates and played against Anand, who won the championship match again.

The next championship, the World Chess Championship 2012, had short knockout matches for the Candidates Tournament. This format wasn't popular with everyone. The world's number one player, Magnus Carlsen, even pulled out in protest. Boris Gelfand won the Candidates. Anand won the championship match again in rapid tie-break games. This was his fourth straight world championship win.

Carlsen's Era (2013–2023)

Magnus Carlsen became World Champion after beating Anand in 2013. He defended his title four times and was the Champion until 2023.

Ding Liren became World Champion in 2023 after beating Ian Nepomniachtchi. Carlsen had refused to defend his title. Ding was the champion until 2024.

Since 2013, the Candidates Tournament has been an eight-player, double round-robin tournament. The winner plays a match against the champion for the title. Magnus Carlsen from Norway won the 2013 Candidates and then easily beat Anand in the World Chess Championship 2013.

Starting with the 2014 Championship, the World Championship has followed a two-year cycle. Carlsen successfully defended his title multiple times: against Anand in 2014, against Sergey Karjakin in 2016, and against Fabiano Caruana in 2018. The 2016 and 2018 defenses were decided by tie-break rapid games.

The COVID-19 pandemic caused the 2020 Candidates Tournament to be interrupted. This also delayed the next match from 2020 to 2021. Carlsen again successfully defended his title, beating Ian Nepomniachtchi in the World Chess Championship 2021.

Ding Liren Becomes Champion (2023–2024)

Further information: World Chess Championship 2023

Soon after the 2021 match, Carlsen said he would not defend his title again. FIDE confirmed this on July 20, 2022. Because of this, the top two players from the Candidates Tournament, Ian Nepomniachtchi and Ding Liren, played in the 2023 championship. Ding won in rapid tie-breaks, becoming the first World Chess Champion from China. FIDE called Ding the "17th World Champion," which means they now officially recognize the "Classical" champions from the split era.

Gukesh Dommaraju's Victory (2024–Present)

Gukesh Dommaraju became the World Champion in 2024 after beating Ding Liren.

The most recent world championship was held in 2024. In this match, Ding Liren lost his title to the Indian player Gukesh Dommaraju. The match took place in Singapore. At just 18 years old, Gukesh became the youngest undisputed World Chess Champion ever. He won the title with 7½ points to Ding's 6½ points.

How the Championship Works

Until 1948, players arranged world championship matches themselves. This meant they also had to find money for the matches. This often made it hard to set up challenges for the title.

After the world champion Alexander Alekhine passed away in 1946, the World Chess Championship 1948 was a special tournament to choose a new world champion.

Since 1948, the world championship usually follows a two or three-year plan with four main steps:

Zonal Tournaments: These are regional tournaments where players qualify for the next stage.
Candidates Qualification Tournaments: From 1948 to 1993, this was the Interzonal tournament. Since 2005, it's often the Chess World Cup. Other events like the FIDE Grand Prix and Grand Swiss also help players qualify. Some players also qualify directly based on their high rating or previous results.
The Candidates Tournament: This tournament chooses the challenger. It has changed in size and format over the years. Since the 2013 cycle, it's always been an eight-player, double round-robin tournament.
The Championship Match: This is the final match between the current champion and the challenger.

There have been a few times when this system changed:

In 1957 and 1960, the champion could get a rematch if they lost. This led to the 1958 and 1961 matches. There were also one-off rematches in 1986 and 2008.
The 1975 championship wasn't held because the champion (Fischer) refused to defend his title. His challenger (Karpov) became champion by default.
During the split title period (1993–2006), there were many changes. FIDE used knockout tournaments or eight-player tournaments.
A special match to reunite the world championship was held in 2006.
The 2007 world championship was decided by an eight-player tournament instead of a match.
The 2023 world championship was played between the top two players from the Candidates, because the champion (Carlsen) chose not to defend his title.

World Champions

Official World Champions (1886–Present)

#	Name	Country	Years
1	Wilhelm Steinitz	Austria-Hungary United States	1886–1894
2	Emanuel Lasker	Germany German Republic	1894–1920
3	José Raúl Capablanca	Cuba	1920–1927
4	Alexander Alekhine	France	1927–1935
5	Max Euwe	Netherlands	1935–1937
(4)	Alexander Alekhine	France	1937–1946 posthumous Champion till 1948
No Champion
6	Mikhail Botvinnik	Soviet Union	1948–1957
7	Vasily Smyslov		1957–1958
(6)	Mikhail Botvinnik		1958–1960
8	Mikhail Tal		1960–1961
(6)	Mikhail Botvinnik		1961–1963
9	Tigran Petrosian		1963–1969
10	Boris Spassky		1969–1972
11	Bobby Fischer	United States	1972–1975
12	Anatoly Karpov	Soviet Union	1975–1985
13	Garry Kasparov	Soviet Union	1985–1993
(12)	Anatoly Karpov	Russia	1993–1999
14	Alexander Khalifman	Russia	1999–2000
15	Viswanathan Anand	India	2000–2002
16	Ruslan Ponomariov	Ukraine	2002–2004
17	Rustam Kasimdzhanov	Uzbekistan	2004–2005
18	Veselin Topalov	Bulgaria	2005–2006
19	Vladimir Kramnik	Russia	2006–2007
(15)	Viswanathan Anand	India	2007–2013
20	Magnus Carlsen	Norway	2013–2023
21	Ding Liren	China	2023–2024
22	Gukesh Dommaraju	India	2024–present

World Champions by Number of Title Wins

This table shows the world champions based on how many times they won a championship match. A successful defense of the title counts as a win.

Champion	Number of Wins			Years as
Champion	Total	Official	Unofficial	Champion	Official Champion
Emanuel Lasker	6	6	0	26	26
Garry Kasparov	6	4	2	15	8
Anatoly Karpov	6	6	0	16	16
Mikhail Botvinnik	5	5	0	13	13
Magnus Carlsen	5	5	0	10	10
Viswanathan Anand	5	5	0	8	8
Alexander Alekhine	4	4	0	19	19
Wilhelm Steinitz	4	4	0	8	8
Vladimir Kramnik	3	1	2	7	1
Tigran Petrosian	2	2	0	6	6
José Raúl Capablanca	1	1	0	7	7
Boris Spassky	1	1	0	3	3
Bobby Fischer	2	1	1	36	3
Max Euwe	1	1	0	2	2
Vasily Smyslov	1	1	0	1	1
Mikhail Tal	1	1	0	1	1
Ding Liren	1	1	0	1	1
Gukesh Dommaraju	1	1	0	0	0
Ruslan Ponomariov	1	1	0	2	2
Alexander Khalifman	1	1	0	1	1
Rustam Kasimdzhanov	1	1	0	1	1
Veselin Topalov	1	1	0	1	1
Alexei Shirov	1	0	1	26	0